Confronting Chinese Nationalism ? The Diplomatic Corps in Beijing in the Early 20th Century.

China?s incorporation into the European international society at the turn of the twentieth century was accompanied by the rise of Chinese nationalism. In the 1910s, particularly during and after the Paris Peace Conference, China staged its early revolt against the West by demanding the application of such principles of national self-determination and equal sovereignty and the abolition of the treaty system in China. This presented an unusual challenge to the diplomatic corps in Beijing, which routinely took a unified stance in its representation to the Chinese government. This paper looks at how the diplomatic corps in Beijing collectively and individually responds to this early revolt and deals with both official and popular nationalist demands. It argues that such mutual engagement is no longer just part of the expansion of the European society of states. More importantly, it functions as the early production of the global international society. ..PAT.-Conference Proceeding [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]